Cancelling aWeber account with about 20k Double Opt In Emails... How should I do this?

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So I have an aWeber account with about 20k double opt-in emails.

I have never ended up mailing much to them.

But I am getting charged about $150 a month. I had some decent plans for the list, but I never got around to using them.

I would obviously save the emails in a backup, but I imagine I'd have a harder time reaching an inbox if I moved them to another server.

So I guess my question is, what would you do with these?

Should I just keeping eating the $150/month fee? Or just drop it?
#main internet marketing discussion forum #20k #account #aweber #cancelling #double #emails #opt
  • Just start emailing them now? 20K double opt in can bring in more than $150 a month.
    • [1] reply
  • I suppose. $150/mo wouldn't really be worth it. If I could make like $800+ I would.

    They aren't very targeted.. Maybe I can send them something though. The demo is mostly 35+ women...
  • You mentioned you had decent plans for the list... what's stopping you from following through.

    If you spent the time building up the list, why would you want to throw that away without trying to make money from a list that size.

    Isn't there affiliate offers or CPA offers that would appeal to most of your audience... something along the same lines of whatever it was that got them to join your list in the first place?
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • Get someone to write emails for you and start using that list! You can start figuring out what you want to target for them and those who aren't interested will drop away...but don't get rid of that list!

    Send affiliate offers to them. I'm not sure if it would look any different to them or if they would care much about you sending them emails from another web responder. Start sending them surveys to find out more about them and sending them emails that get them to talk. Send them links and figure out which ones they decide to click on.

    I'm super jealous of that list...send it to me!
  • I think the list would be 'dead' already, but you've already paid for a couple of months for it, and it wouldn't hurt to try sending at least 3 to 6 emails as 'feelers'.

    See what kind of responses you get, if they get opened etc. If it's totally dead you can simply close the account as you were planning to.

    If not, you have a great opportunity to resume your plans of the list (even if you don't want to work on it yourself, you could get someone to execute your plan step by step).

    It's an asset - you must try to salvage it if possible : )

    Sagar
  • True, I might have to do some work with it..

    They are mostly taking a from a humor website.. I don't have much on them.. but maybe I can start segmenting the list a bit..
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    • ok there is the person that is bored with a $10,000 a year site... and now someone that has amassed a 20,000 double op list that wants to just chuck it??

      I will tell you what. Send your list just 1 e-mail.

      Title: I'm a Loser, Go Ahead and Shoot Me!

      Hi,

      I know I have not bothered you much.
      You see, I have no need for money.
      I am sitting on a gravy train of profits.
      And have no need to utilize it.
      It's simply not worth my time to even try
      to get the $150 a month I spend
      to maintain my list out of you people.
      If I'm not making at least $800 from you silly people,
      It's simply not worth my time.
      As a last ditch effort to get at least something from you,
      I am going to make a ONE TIME OFFER.
      I am talking very time sensitive here.
      There are no upsells, no next offers.
      This is 100% the REAL DEAL!
      I currently have in my possession a solid
      20,000 member list.
      YOU are a member of this list.
      This is not just ANY list.
      This is a Double Opt-in Top Of the line
      Under utilized primed to get pumped list.
      I simply do not have the Interest,
      I do not have the Drive,
      I do not have the NEED for your money!
      So like I said I am going to make you,
      The largest list in the history of
      list abandonment.
      The first person to hit the link below,
      and make a 1 time payment of only $800
      will be the NEW OWNER of this list.
      >>>> <<<<
      Thanks for your time!
      • [ 3 ] Thanks
      • [3] replies
  • tell us a joke
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • Don't stop as you say you have decent plans for your list then keep then eating but if you think the list is dead then just close your account.
    • [1] reply
    • Hiya Frank,
      In one of your replies you say "maybe I can send them something though." You came across to me as sounding as if you just don't care. You have a huge potential here to grow your business exponentially, and yet, you sound like you can't be bothered to do anything about it. Come on!! You've achieved a list of over 20 thousand people, that's fantastic!! You should be proud of what you've achieved and eager to see what you can do to build on that, not thinking about giving it up and walking away!

      The reason everyone says that "the money is in the list", is because it's true!! Of course, this depends on how you handle your list though. You can't change the fact that you haven't communicated with your list much, but you don't want to go from one extreme to the other and start sending daily emails either.

      I would suggest that you start sending them a weekly email and track what your open and click through rates are like. This will let you know how responsive your list is, whether you can build a relationship with your list and improve their responsiveness, or whether your list is completely dead. Don't try to sell them anything right away, but instead, send out emails with a brief introduction to an article of interest with a link to that article, your latest blog or something similar. On the fourth week you could then send out a sales email (if you've had a reasonable open and click through rate on your other emails) and see what the potential is to make money from your list.

      I think you would be doing yourself a huge dis-service if you didn't even try. You have nothing to lose doing it this way, but you do have everything to gain if you get responses. Either way, you will then know for sure whether you should ditch your list or start using it properly to build relationships with them and make some money Why not give it a go and then come back here and share what you did and what happened? I'm sure you will be sharing some great news and results with us all very soon
      • [1] reply
  • You say its not targetted...but it is...you say its mostly 35+ women...that means you have people buying everything beauty related...seriously everything, without thinking much...no offence, ladies.
    • [1] reply
    • Its even worse than that... This is the Holy Grail of online demographics. without question the hardest demographic to get on a single in list, let alone a double opt in.

      This list could be an easy $1.00 per user conversion, and it is just sitting there. What a flippin waste.
  • Personally if I were you I will convert the list into a solo ad biz on its own than just leaving them there lose value.

    It doesn't matter what niche you build the list from. Everyone wants to make some extra money online or from home and there are quite a few solo ad providers that are making a recent income online for just selling clicks to online marketers.

    Anyway it's really your choice though on what you want to do with it
  • Are you serious? You have to be joking. A list like that, even an old list, is a six figure income easy. But, if it's not your thing, I would consider selling the whole account to someone else.
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • What! come on man, start sending the list promotional emails pronto! No stories here, no long tales, just focus and start making money. I still cant believe this!
  • Thanks for the replies. I mean, I know its valuable, thats why I built it, but I had other income sources I was working on so it kinda went by the wayside.

    I guess I just don't know where to start/what to even offer them.
    • [2] replies
    • You were busy with other income sources that you couldn't take a few hours a week to work this?

      Can you honestly tell me that these "Other" sources were/are making you $10,000 a month?

      By everything you have mentioned about this list, that is EXACTLY what it is, and its not worth the little time? You already have the list, that's the hard part... All you had to do was write some e-mails with jokes in them and have a section called "All Joking aside" and make a pitch.

      Go onto Amazon or something and find a $400 Gucci purse or something.
      Find some high dollar weight loss program
      Find some stupid $40 gag gift

      SOMETHING for goodness sakes.

      Do you understand in the REAL world, business owners are working with 80% overhead to earn a living. You on the other hand are dealing with what $160? And you cant find the time? that is TRAGIC at the very least.

      Dude seriously get a day job.
      • [2] replies
    • You said they came from a humor website, so send them funny stuff women over 35 tend to like. Research that if you need to.

      One pretty good bet is a lot will respond to humor which pokes fun at gender relations in a light hearted manner; making fun of how men screw up with women is often a female crowd pleaser.

      Then make fun of yourself, maybe relate it to one of the jokes about men messing up. In fact, take advantage of the fact that you did screw up in a typical way that women have pet peeves about; guys drop the ball a lot and don't call, leaving the women wondering if they care.

      Make it light, but ask for their help: "It's not you, it's me...". Then ask them to vote (in a survey), on what bonehead thing men do bugs them the most. Once they've done that, ask them to fill out a more serious survey about their interests "so I don't have to continue being a clueless man-cave dweller"

      Just some ideas; who knows, maybe some variation on that will work. Like we all know though, test test test. You never know what works until you do.
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  • Hello Frank,

    You may be a Hyperactive Warrior but certainly not a Hyperactive Marketer! lol

    Would you be interested in doing some test mailings for us, on a profit share basis?

    We might also be interested in buying your list/account if it proved to be responsive to our test mailings.

    If interested get back to me.

    Lindy
    • [ 2 ] Thanks
    • [2] replies
    • When was the last time you mailed them? What is your open rate?
      Do they click on the links within the mail?

      At the very least, if you can get some of these people to open your mails and click on your links, you can at least sell mail blasts to other marketers and make a profit on $150...
      • [1] reply
    • Smart! Very smart Lindy.

      Joe Mobley


      • [ 1 ] Thanks
      • [1] reply
  • Complete and utter nonsense!

    Or you could make it, "I'm a clueless newbie that doesn't understand the value of cutting loose dead weight."

    I deleted a list of almost 18,000 subs. less than a year ago. In some cases, the money is not in the list.

    Hey Frank, opportunity is knocking.
    • [1] reply
    • I don't like to disclose actual numbers, but...

      I haven't had one in 3 years. Don't plan on ever going back honestly.

      True. I mean I suppose I can send them random offers, but like I said, it's not niche specific at all.

      I have a very targeted list of 1,000 people in the "Self Development" niche as well. I think they are a more valuable list to have.

      Okay, well I've been convinced I should keep the aWeber account. I was doing some early spring cleaning and trying to eliminate recurring expenses that were starting to add up, but seems like this is something to work on!
      • [2] replies
  • I would send the a mail or series of mails, asking them what it is they are interested in. You could get them to leave their comments on your blog for example.

    This could also be a survey as well.

    Once you have established what the majority of people are interested in, start sending them free information mixed with affiliate links from products you have checked out and can vouch for.

    In any case it seems like not such a good move to let 20K double optins go to waste.
  • I say get some cash flow to at least cover the $150....you can always come back to the bigger ticket items if need be.
  • Why would you spend your time accumulating 20k worth of subscribers if you never intended on mailing them and converting them? Did you purchase a list of 20k subscribers or did you build it yourself? 20k is a lot of subscribers if you built it yourself. If I was you I would try warming up the list if you built it yourself. If you purchased the list, I would not recommend mailing as that would be considered spamming.
  • run some tests on the list and get a feel for what the open rate is and play around with some free offers to opt in to another targeted offer and then you'll be able to see what things specific segments of your audience are interested in. You can then try this out with some paid offers or even provide solo ads. seems like a waste not to utilise a list of that size (if they do open your emails).
    • [1] reply
    • I guess I don't even know where to start with that though...

      Potentially funnel them into weight loss? And some into shopping deals?

      CPA offers? Clickbank offers?

      I don't wanna do little gift card offers or anything. Seems like it would just turn the list off...

      Realistically, If I could build this to something making $2k+ a month, it would be worth it, otherwise... I think it's a relative waste of time for me to focus all my mental efforts on currently.
  • Since it's been a year since they last heard from you they definitely forgot who you are (at least I would). This is the main problem with your list that I see. Even if you do find something that interests them, they're likely to see it as spam. Some may remember you once their memory jogs, but they'll still be confused.

    I would try to send them some free offers or links to articles that the majority of women are interested in: beauty, weight loss, fitness, maybe money management, kids, and anything else the standard 35+ woman deals with regularly. You need to gain their trust to get them to pay attention to you.

    Aside from that, you can send affiliate offers and CPA offers, you may be best served by CPA but I'm not an expert. Also, be prepared for spam complaints...
  • It's a Humor list, why don't you start emailing them REGULARLY, a comedian of the day. Sign up as an iTunes or Amazon affiliate and start marketing Stand-up comedy CDs.

    Or, once you've started doing that, see if you can't cut an affiliate ticket sales deal with some comedians. They are regularly trying to book and sell tours.
  • There are lots of things you can sell to a comedy list. You could try comedy specials, CDs, movies, books, ect. Comedy is a pretty big niche and it shouldn't be too hard to find a few things to offer them, and see how they covert. Test a verity of products and stick with what works.
  • wow, you have an amazing list. You said your list doesnt have like a specific niche. So what you can do is try to segment them. One day send free an ebook about for example "build a list" people who download try to send them to another list. So you can build yous list about people who are interested in list building. Then you can try with "affiliate marketing" and people interested to start a website then that can be another list. So I´m just saying, try to divide your huge list in different lists and find what they are interested. So in the future for you im sure you will make sales.

    I am surprise that you want to get rid of that list because for most of us that list is a dream =)

    Also you can contact Igorhelpsyousucced I had Heard really good reviews about him and he is an expert with the list.

    Hope this helps =)
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • Im pretty sure that you can pay $5 a month for Aweber to keep your account and list on freeze, but they dont delete the list or anything like that. That is what thy told me when they rang me. (It could have been getresponse, but i think its aweber.)

    Or, you could just use it for solo ads. People looking to get a headstart on there funny blog or facebook page would pay for a solo ad from you i think. Try contacting the Lad Bible on facebook or something.
  • You should at least try to monetize this list. You could look up some offers on a CPA network with the demographics for 35+ women and see what the highest converting offers are.

    I wouldn't just abandon a list that big. Try a few different types of offers and emails. It really doesn't matter which offer you choose, but try something. You could also market a joke book from amazon, a course on how to be funny, or just anything. If the list just isn't biting, then yeah, just ditch the account.
  • What made you continue to build this list if you weren't making money from the first 2,000 subscribers?
  • Sell the lists to one of these dummies!
  • I'd definitely try to make some money from the list before cancelling aweber, from a list of that size could earn plenty. Even sending clickbanks products for women 35+ could work well!
  • I recently wrote a short pdf satire based on all the
    how to make money letters we used to get in the
    mail before the internet.

    No email addresses are collected by me, although it is
    a system requirement to give one before download.

    It can be freely passed to others so if you would
    like to use this to keep things simmering let me
    know privately. I won't post any url here.
  • have you tried to promote anything to your 20K list.. if not try it out before it sending..

    What i would is that I would filter the them into different list so we can understand what to promote to whom...

    Filter it by giving some free offers and build different target list to promote your different offers..

    I hope you understood what I am trying to say..
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • There is something really good advice on this thread (and not so good) that you can learn from. Maybe you need some consulting. Have you ever considered going that route?
  • Good for you having 20k email list. Don't waste this. Start emailing them now. You can make lots of money using this. $150 is just small compared to the money that you can make using those emails.
  • There was a topic on here a while back from a guy amassing 15,000 subs per month but deleting them each month before Aweber charged him for them as he wasn't mailing them.

    Why bother building a list in the first place?
    • [1] reply
    • It was never my attention to be mean. It was my intention however, to get your attention. In the course of this thread there have been 3 people say that have 54,000 people lists, that just went bad or they didn't know what to do with. And that is ok. But, the big question is what did you learn from it?

      I saw Lindy make a post a few days ago. She said some very interesting things. I Immediately went and read EVERY post she has made in the last couple of months. She and I market in very much the same way, with three exceptions. I target my products, she opens the doors to the mall.

      The other being how we get our product lines. I do 50% of the time use affiliate programs. But I will match a single program to a message. IE If I were writing about Weight Loss, the product I might target with would be a water delivery service. The article itself would be about the benefits of water intake. ( ding ding )

      The third being I control the sale from start to finish. My clients do not leave my web real estate to make the purchase. I work closely with my affiliate products to produce API's that allow for this.

      I have never in my IM career been a Amazon affiliate. I have never once peddled anything from clickbank. I deal directly with the source 99% of the time. If I am selling an information based product, it is of my own creation.

      I see the value in what Lindy does, and I am making some modifications in my delivery. It will be a technical challenge and financial expense, but I absolutely see the value in it. Having a client that is interested in "A" and then allowing them to look at "B" "C" and "D" is like OTO upselling without the steps. As she states, like taking a woman to the mall.

      This is very much in line with my idea of Branding. I have 4 separate lists. 3 weeks out of the month they get their own targeted e-mails. The last week of the month every list gets the same e-mail. A cross branded mix of my niches. It has absolutely amazed me how well this has worked. It literally increased my profits by 20%. It basically increased my reach, without the work of each individually, by joining them collectively.

      So now that you understand a bit of what I do, you can see why I was riding the issue so hard. To focus on one list is great. I get it. Maintaining a list is a pain. Try 4 of them, or in Lindy's case, what is it 9?

      Once a month all of your lists, would have enjoyed a few jokes, and the people on your 20,000 list might be interested in what you have to say about Self Development. This is using the resources you have in hand, to extend your financial reach.

      I just hope in all of this, those of you that have "Thrown" a list, see the potential you lost. ( In this case, enough to buy a house every year ) The gain in the whole scenario at this point is understanding the who what where why when and how the disconnect happened. As my Grandfather always told me "Self examination creates Self Determination" Look inside, learn from your mistakes, and come out stronger and smarter on the other side.
      • [1] reply
  • It seems to me that you have given your list a lot of free content but were too afraid to promote something to them. If that is the case, then it is time you start sending them promotions so that you do start to make money from that list.
    • [1] reply
    • Hello Joe Mobley an Savidge4,

      First of all Joe - Thank You for your comments bout me being smart. It's not every day a Blonde is called smart! Well my Dad says I am but he luvs me so he's biased! lol,

      Thank you too Savidge4 for your comments. So you read every post I'v made in last 2 months. You poor Guy! I'm a typical woman, when I start talking there's no end to it, as you likely found out. lol.

      I want to credit my Dad here though, he's the one who has taught me all I know, if I'm smart at all, he's the one who has made me that way. I'v had a huge advantage of being mentored by him and being able to learn from him nearly every day of the week for the past 10 years. We love what we do, we live an breath IM, still work 16 hour shifts through the working week cause it's jus fun to us, not like work at all. He still lives in Australia and I in England, so we work though our online conference rooms, with VOIP an WebCams. We only get to be with each other a few weeks of the year, I cannot wait for the time he moves here with us, then Sherri's an my life will be perfect.

      Yes Savidge4, we have 9 lists. the largest well over 100,000 the others each much smaller, but we have the advantage of having great staff to help us. We have 16 girls working for us here, we run 3 shifts a day so operate 24 hours to cover time zones in Australia, Europe an the UK. We actually have around 40 full time employees including workers who are overseas an sales teams in UK.

      I'm never shy bout stating our figures, not to brag or anything but to show people what can really be achieved in IM if you treat your Business as a real Business an not a Hobby. I'v already stated we make bout US$2 Million a year jus from Affiliate Marketing, but that's the smallest part of our Business now. Our turnover last year was jus over US$10 Million, mostly from Online/Offline (providing Online services to Offline Business's)

      10 years ago my Dad was making around $75,000 a year, an I was making $408 ! lol. That's what you can build if your serious bout your Business an have passion for what you do. I know not everyone wants to build multi million dollar Business's, but whatever your dreams you can achieve them, remember everyone starts from nothing, even Billionaires like Bill Gates an Richard Branson. My Dad has a saying: The Secret of Success is to Start from Scratch an Keep Scratching. So never give up on your dreams - whatever they are jus go an make them come true.

      Lindy

      AcesHigh asked for a joke earlier in this thread, an he never got one. I'm going to give him a Blonde Joke - an yes I am a Blond so I'v heard a lot of them. Hope you like this one:








  • The funny thing to me about this topic was the guys saying it wasn't worth their time to spend 10 minutes sending out a message just to make a few dollars yet they spent far more time on here posting and arguing about it.

    If the message hasn't been sent yet just get one sent to see what the outcome is. I don't know why it has to be such an issue.

    Send something out to see what the result is. If it's in anyway promising then think about how to go forward with it.

    If it's dismal then think about deleting it.
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